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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.
Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
One company value investors might notice is MS&AD Insurance Group (MSADY). MSADY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.
Investors should also recognize that MSADY has a P/B ratio of 1.20. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. MSADY's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.45. MSADY's P/B has been as high as 1.35 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.19, over the past year.
Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. MSADY has a P/S ratio of 0.79. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.25.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that MS&AD Insurance Group is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, MSADY sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc. (MSADY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).